Darkness
by Sakura1301
Summary: Sakura and Li made a promise a long time ago. But after a phone call, Sakura's world comes crashing down. She then hides her feelings and acts as if she's dead. Even after Li broke his promise, Sakura still waits for him to return. Will he return or will
1. Regret

Disclaimer: Well, as you all know, I do not own CCS. CLAMP does and if I did, I would be filthy rich and this ficcy would never of existed and more CCS episodes would of been created. But...that isn't gonna happen...so lose all hope now and start reading the ficcy. The story starts right after the bold letters. That is all. Thank you. 

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Darkness

By:Sakura1301

Chapter 1 Regret

Sakura Kinomoto: Age 17. Born in Tomeda, Japan. Heart broken and crushed.

It was 7:45 PM. Sakura sat on a swing in Penguin Park staring into space. Eyes devoid of emotion as she sat there. Her face blank. She sat there. She had been sitting there since school had been released for the day. Waiting...waiting...for **him**. It was the same thing day after day. School was released, she packed up and headed for the park. The park. It was a daily routine day after day. Even on weekends. She was used to it now. It had been going on for three long, miserable years. Since that day...that awful day...she had **waited....**

~Flashback~

*ring* *ring* Sakura rushed to the phone. "Hello?" She said in a cheery voice. There was a slight pause. "Sakura...." "Syaoran? Whats wrong?" "Sakura....I'm not coming back. I can't love you....I don't love you....I **won't** love you." "S-Syaoran....this is a j-joke. Right?" She choked. "No....no. It's not." "B-But our promise...." "Screw the promise. I-I don't want to **ever** see you again Kinomoto!" And there was a click from the other line. Sakura stared at the phone. Her eyes grew watery but she held back the tears. She wouldn't cry...no...she couldn't. It was so sudden. Too sudden. She slowly placed the phone back on the receiver and bowed her head as she made her way to her room. 

~Further Flashback~

"Sakura, aren't you upset he still hasn't returned?" Tomoyo asked. Sakura smiled at her. "I am but I still believe in him. He promised so I'm gonna wait for him. Even if it takes him eternity." "Whoa...you really gonna wait THAT long?" Sakura nodded. "If it is necessary for him to return...I will wait till the end of time. I promise." Tomoyo smiled at her best friend. "You really are in love. Aren't you?" Sakura nodded.

~End Flashback~

Sakura sat there...waiting....waiting. She had kept her promise all this time. Even if he broke his. She told her friend a long time ago...that she would wait...wait till the end of time. And if she promised that. Then she would keep the promise. She would wait. 

Did she regret ever meeting him?

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Yes.

Did she ever regretbeing his rival?

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Yes.

Did she ever regret being his friend?

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Yes.

Did she ever regret being his love?

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Yes.

Did she ever regret loving him?

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....No.

All her life, she had been a giver, even a giver of foot stompings to her brother....but now....she could give no longer. **No longer.** She needed love. Not just any kind of love. A certain love. Not the love of a friend. Not the love of a brother. Not the love of family. She needed....**True Love.** The love of a lover. And there was only one person who could do that. And it was....Syaoran. 

If she had to....she would wait on that very same swing....every day....till the end of **Time.** He was the only one she ever felt true love for. **Only** him. Since that....that....wretched phone call, she could never speak. Not ever again. As soon as she put down that receiver that day, her world had come crashing down. Down. Down. **Down.** She was never a taker in the first place. Always a giver. And she gave and gave till she had nothing left but a mere shell. Since that day, she had become **afraid** of Love. To love others. And to even accept it from others. She needed love from a true lover....but how could she accept it if she couldn't even accept it from others? How could she? **How could she???**

Maybe....just maybe....if she could just hear those three simple words from his mouth again, everything would be normal. **Normal.**

Thats all she wanted. For everything to be normal. Again. 

Things change though. Things change. She wanted to die. Just to die and to get over with it. Heaven, Hell, it made no difference to her. If she died and went to heaven, her heart would still be empty. If she went to hell, the pain wouldn't even come close to what she felt deep inside her heart. Yes, her heart. The one thing that kept her going till now. Now it laid in shattered pieces. Yes, she wanted to kill herself. But before she did. She was going to fulfill her part of the promise. And wait.

To be continued....

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*Sob* I almost started crying myself when I was writing this!But I got over it. Yes, there is gonna be more chapters. So don't worry. I tried to go **deep** when I was writting. REALLY deep. And it seems I have succeeded. (WooHoo!) Well, I need some feedback. It'll make me feel alot more better. And yes, this is S+S. Well, till my next chapter....Ja!


	2. Denying Death

Disclaimer: Yes yes. We all know the drill. I don't own CCS and neither do you. So....ON WITH THE FIC!

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Darkness

By: Sakura1301

Chapter 2 Denying Death

Sakura was walking to school with her usual attitude. Loneliness. She was used to people walking by just staring at her. She was used to the boys that went to school with her driving past her yelling at her, telling her how beautiful she was or trying to ask her out as they zoomed by. It had been going on ever since she started high school. But that morning....that morning was different.

The usual boys that usually zoomed past her while yelling stuff at her were driving there convertible very slowly beside her. They were making remarks about how cool it would be if she went out with them or would go to the up coming dance with them. But in her own special world, she was alone. All of her friends in her world had somehow faded away. Such as Tomoyo. 

"Hey beautiful! Why don't you come to the dance with me?" She kept her face staring straight ahead. Unaware of the boys and face completely devoid of emotion. One of the boys in the car grew impatient and hopped out of the moving car and grabbed her wrist. She kept on walking till she felt a tug at her arm. She stopped and didn't turn around. "Answer me!" The boy shouted. Suddenly, Sakura whirled around and brought her hand up quick and hard and slapped his face with the back of her hand. Still, her face devoid of emotion and eyes blank. He released her wrist and grabbed his cheek where she had hit him. "Why you little!" And he balled his fist up and swung it at Sakura. Sakura, who was totally aware of it did nothing to stop it nor did she flinch. But just before it had actually hit, Eriol had stepped in out of nowhere and had blocked it. He gave them a cold glare. "Leave her alone." The guy glared at Eriol. "Huh. You got lucky Kinomoto. But next time you won't be as lucky." And he hopped back into the convertible and drove off with the rest of his friends. Tomoyo had ran up to them while panting. "S-Sakura....I....thought you....were gonna get it real....good." Tomoyo said as she tried to catch her breath. Eriol patted Tomoyo's back. Sakura simply turned around and continued to walk as if nothing happened. 

Eriol sighed as he watched Sakura's form grow smaller and smaller in the distance. "She really worries me Tomoyo. She does. She's been acting like this ever since that phone call from my ungrateful descendant." Tomoyo's face grew sad. "She acts as if we never even existed. As if no one around her exists." "Yes. If I could turn time back, I would of never of let Sakura fall in love with him." "How would you do that?" She asked. "I would never have let her become Mistress of the cards." He sighed.

School was nothing to Sakura. Even the teacher wouldn't even call on her anymore. She would tone out the teacher most of the time and at the same time, she would process the days lessons into her memories for further use. In class, she would finish her work quickly so she didn't have any work to do to interrupt her daily routine. 

Everyone knew something was wrong with her. And it also effected others around her. And for the first time in months, she had started to talk to herself in her mind....

_'Why did Sy...no...Li-kun...do this to me? Why? Did I do or say something wrong? Did he just grow tired of me? Did he find a new love? WHY!? Why am I always the one to suffer!? What did I do to this world? Was capturing the cards and saving the world a crime!? Why does the world hate me!? I feel so alone....alone. As if the darkness around me has taken over everything....everything. Even my love. No. He was my love. Now, he is no one. He is not the Li I once knew. The Li that loved me. He is now a new Li. A different one. One that doesn't love or...even...even knows me. Why did he break his promise!? He promised me! I just know he did! I heard with my own ears! I even saw him say it! So why did he break it? Why? I feel as if I am just a wined up toy. A toy to be wound up and used....then slowly wined down. Down till my gears don't work. Till they are dead. And unmoving. That is how I feel. I feel dead. I am unafraid of death itself. And I wish....I just wish....for one simple thing.....for him to return to me. To be with me. Forever. But if he is happy, then there is no use for my happiness and love. There I go again. I am being selfish. Just plain selfish. If he is happy, then....I am happy....who am I kidding? Im not happy. I feel empty. Cold. Sad....Dead. It kinda reminds me of paper. If you crumble it up, it won't be perfect again. I was crumpled. And now, I will never be the same again....' _And she was right. She would never be the same again. 

~Hong Kong~

Syaoran Li swung his mighty sword hard against the wooden dummy, the hardest blow he could manage. The dummy's upper half fell to the floor. Li Syaoran stood there in a sweat as he huffed for air. He turned his sword back into its pendulum form and walked out of the training room and was met by Meilings grumpy face. She started complaining. "Ugh! I HATE the Li clan! I wish that I was never a Li in the first place!" Li sighed. The same thing happened day after day after day. 

1st: He would train

2nd: He would finish

3rd: He would be greeted by Meilings complaining.

It was the same everyday. He had started to like Meiling more when she started complaining about the marriage arrangement. Because he too didn't want to marry her just like she didn't want to marry him. During the night, she would sneak out of the house to go see her special someone out there. Then she would return about an hour later. This had been going on for about a month now. At first, she was thrilled to get married to Syaoran, but over the time, she grew distant from him. And the thought of marrying him made her sick to her stomach. Marrying her cousin. "Gross!" Is what she would say about it. If it wasn't for his mother, he would be in Japan right now with his dear Cherry Blossom. But noooo. He had to do what they wanted! He had no freedom! He had nothing but the stupid Clan and his mother to thank. He even tried arguing with them.

~Flashback~

"I told you! I don't want to marry Meiling! She's my cousin!" Li yelled. "We are sorry but we are not going let you be the weak link in our clan!" An elder yelled back. "Meiling has no magic! But the card mistress does! Can't you see I love Sakura and not Meiling!?" "Yes, the card mistress does have very powerful magic but she is not of our blood!" "Grr...She has clows blood in her as we do! Her father was a half reincarnation of Clow!" "If she is not born into the Li clan, then she is not one of us!" "Don't you see!? If we keep up our tradition, the magic is gonna get weaker and before you know it, we wont exist!" "That problem will be solved when it comes." "Our magic can increase if we have a new source of magic and Sakura is the one!" "I will not hear anymore of this nonsense. Meiling is to be your bride weather you like it or not! You are dismissed." Li growled as he left the room.

~End Flashback~

Li grumbled just thinking about that day. When the stupid clan would hear none of it. It had been a month since that little argument. Well, it was time to pay them another visit. Weather they like it or not.

Li bowed to the Elders and stood up. One of the elders put his hand up before Li could talk. "If this is about the Card Mistress, make it quick. We have lots of work to do." "Fine. I'm gonna tell you again, I don't want to marry Meiling!" "Oh, this subject again." "Listen! The only reason you don't want Sakura to be part of our clan is because your afraid! Afraid of outsiders! Well listen, if we don't change our tradition, then, its gonna be our downfall!" The Eldest Li member sighed. "Yes. It is true. We are afraid. Afraid that outsiders that are let into our clan would tell others about our magic." "Sakura isn't like that! And if she did, she would be blowing her own cover as well!" "Syaoran, my boy...." "Don't 'My Boy' me! Im sick of this stupid tradition! What do I have to do to convince you!?" "Syaoran, if you really love this Card Mistress, then bring her here and we will see. I am too old to argue and my days are coming to an end." He said while walking down the steps to the large table at the top with Elders around it. "Syaoran, you are the most suborn kid i've seen in my time. Even more than me when I was younger. But, if it'll make you stop bothering us, bring the girl here." He said as he patted Li's shoulder. Li smiled at him and thanked him. "Thank you." The Elder smiled. "Did you know Syaoran, you've been doing this every month on the very same day and very same hour?" Li blushed. It was true. He had been doing it for three years now. Month after month. "No, I didn't realize it." The elder chuckled. "We've already planned your flight. It's tomorrow an noon. So go pack now. And here." He pulled out a white envelope and handed it to him. "You'll need these to get to Japan." Li smiled. "Thanks again." "Now run along. Your flight leaves in 14 hours." Li smiled again and ran off. The eldest elder turned to the others. They were all staring at him. "C'mon guys. Give the kid a break. Plus, it would be good for the clan." "But made that decision with out us. Thats not very elder like of you." Said the youngest elder. "Well, I am older than all of you so I don't see why we should torture the lad." They all sighed. 

~Li's Place~

Li ran into the house with a large grin plastered on his face. He ran up to Meiling and picked her up and swung her around. She looked puzzled. "Um...why are you so happy?" "The elders finally said it was okay to bring Sakura here!" Meilings face lit up. She too had wanted to see Sakura. "Thats great Syaoran! When is coming?" "She's not coming, im gonna go get her!" "Finally! I don't have to get married to you!" They both started to laugh. It was glorious moment. But not in Japan....

~Japan~

School had ended about 10 minutes ago and she was headed to Penguin Park as usual. She slowly walked down the all to familiar street. As she walked, up ahead a shadow could be seen in an allyway. She kept on walking unaware of the lone figure. And just as she was passing by, a hand shot out of the allyway and gripped itself around her mouth and pulling her in. 

"Okay kid, give me all of your money." It was a thief. She did nothing except stand there. He growled. He then put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back hard against the ally wall. She slumped to the ground and lifted her head to look at the man. He pulled out a long switch blade and showed it to her. "See this little missy. Don't make me use it. Because I will." She did nothing. He held it to her throat. "Hand over the money." No response. "What? Wanna die kid?" No response again. "Aren't you afraid of death? Because it looks to me your wishin to die." "I am not afraid of death. And yes, I want to die." For the first time in years, she had spoken. The man blinked. She was suppose to be scared out of her wits and was suppose to hand over her money. The blade was sharp. Oh so sharp. He moved it along her neck while pressing just enough for her to start to bleed. "It hurts, doesn't it?" "No." He blinked. He was furious. He grabbed the collar of her shirt and lifter her up into the air. "Why you little wench! Give me your money!" He yelled.

Tomoyo was walking along the same sidewalk that Sakura was before she was pulled into the alleyway. Then she heard yelling from the alleyway. She looked and there was Sakura pushed against the wall by some scary lookin guy. "Hey! Put her down!" The man looked to Tomoyo and dropped Sakura and made a break for it. Tomoyo ran up to Sakura and helped her up. "Oi Sakura! Are you okay?" Sakura didn't answer. She mearly got up and brushed past her friend. Tomoyo sighed. Her friend was like a living zombie. What could she do to help her? A thought struck her. She was still mad at Li and now she hated him too. She decided, things might change if she could get that gaki back to her Sakura. 

~Tomoyo's Place~

Tomoyo picked up her pink phone that was identical to Sakura's. She knew Li still had the green phone she had given him so she was gonna call him. And if he refused to come back, then she was going to go over there and drag his ass all the way back to Japan.

~Li's Place~

Li had everything packed already and was laying on his bed thinking of what Sakura's reaction would be when she saw him. It was far from what was going to happen. Just then, a telephone rang. He picked up his white phone. "Hello?" Dial tone. "What the?" He heard it ring again. The noise was muffled. He looked around. Strange. There was no other phone in his room except....the green one Tomoyo gave him during his cardcapting days! He dove under his bed and pulled out the large trunk of stuff he had been keeping. Things from Japan. He unlocked it quickly and grabbed the green phone and switched it on. "Hello?" There was some huffing on the other line. "Li! Get your ass back to Japan! Im sick of how you treated Sakura! Now if only you could see her! It's all your fault! ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" Tomoyo was yelling. Li had pulled the phone away from his ear or else he would of had a broken eardrum. "Whoa Tomoyo! Stop yelling!" She stopped and took a deep breath on the other line. "Okay Tomoyo. Lets go slow. Now, why did you call?" "I called because of Sakura! She almost died today because of you!" Li started to panic. "S-She what!?" "You heard me! She almost died today because of you!" "What did I do!?" "You broke her heart by that stupid phone call! Look at my Sakura-chan! She waited for you! She waited....and waited. Then all of a sudden, that stupid phone call! It shattered her heart and dreams! If only you could see her now! She's still waiting for you! She kept her promise while you broke yours! And plus she's keeping my promise too...." "And what was that?" "She told me she would wait till the end of time for you! Just for you! She promised me that! Then a few days after that, she gets that phone call from you! Li, she's not her self anymore! And who do we have to thank!? You! Thats who! She's still waiting! She's been waiting three long years after that call!" Li was speach less. "Tomoyo....I have some news for you. I was going to call you later to tell you, im coming back to Japan." Tomoyo didn't say anything. "Well listen here bub! If your not here in 48 hours, im coming after you! And when I come for you, I'll have your head mounted on my wall!" Li flinched at those last words. Then there was a click. Li sighed. Tomoyo really must be worried. He turned the phone off and placed it in his luggage. If he needed it. 

~Japan~

Sakura woke from her sleep. It was the weekend. She rubbed her neck where she had been cut. The cut was now gone because of her magic. She looked at her clock. It was 8:00 in the morning. She got up and went to take a shower.

She came out about ten minutes later fully dressed and went down for breakfast. She was tired. Tired of everything. Tired of the same routine. Tired of being alone. Tired of waiting. And just plain tired. She had been eating breakfast and dinner but skipping lunch everyday. As she sat at the table. Touya greeted her with his usual saying. "Morning kaijuu." Sakura did nothing but eat her eggs and toast. Touya eyed her and sighed. "Why doesn't she ever do anything to me? C'mon Sakura, you suppose to say things like, "Im not a kaijuu!" or "Shut up!" or at least, "At least im not like you!"..." Fujitaka sighed. "Touya stop. Your sister just isn't the same. I wish I knew why." Touya nodded. It was true. Sakura had never told them. She had only told Tomoyo and Tomoyo told Eriol. But only them. 

Sakura finished and got up from the table and headed out. 

When she made it to the park, little kids were swinging on the swings. She didn't bother on bothering them. She just walked into the forest. She kept on walking while looking at the tree branches above. When she spotted a good limb, she jumped up and sat on the branch. She was surrounded by all sorts of trees and animals. But it made no difference. He was not there. _'He is not here. And he will never be here.'_ was all she thought. _'And he will never love me as I did him.'_

To be continued....

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Well, this was a long chapter for me. The most ive actually done was five pages and this is almost five. Its four. I'll post the next chapter soon. So don't worry. Till then, Ja! 


	3. Return

Disclaimer: Yady yady yada. We all know. I don't own CCS. So bite me wont ya! 

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Darkness

By: Sakura1301

Chapter 3 Return

Tomoyo paced back and forth in her living room. Li had five hours till she blew up and if he didn't make it here in that time, boy, was he in for it! If he was trying to hide from her, she swore she would track his ass down like a Bounty Hunter. She glanced at her watch for the 50th time during the last hour. This was ridiculous. Waiting for HIM...while her poor Sakura-chan was wasting her life away for him! All because of that damn phone call! She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. She looked at her watch again. It read 11:30 a.m. Thirty minutes till his flight arrived. She stopped to listen to her surroundings. It was all silent except for a giant grand father clock that was ticking the time away. Her mother wasn't home. So that left Tomoyo, some bodyguards, and the maids. She started to tap her foot impatiently. How time could be so slow! Always! Whenever you want the time to slow down, it speeds up. And when you want it to speed up, it slowed down. Sometimes time could be a bitch. That was it, she couldn't take it anymore. "Lila! Im going to the airport!" "Why Miss Tomoyo?" She asked. "I have to meet someone there. Someone VERY special..." She growled. "Yes ma'am." And she bowed and went to get the Limo ready. Tomoyo stomped her way to the front door and slipped on her shoes and a dress coat. She quickly grabbed a pair of sunglasses on her way out to where the limo was waiting.

~The Forest~

Sakura sat there while her butt started to get num. The limb wasn't the best place of all places to sit but it was better than the dirty ground. She stared blankly into space. All of the colors around her was mixed till it was black in her mind. Her thoughts slowly wondered to her dead mother. What would she say about this? Would she argue or let Sakura figure it out on her own? What would her mother do in her shoes? These are few of the unanswered questions that wondered in the sands of time. Time would provide the answer one day. It would take well over 70 years to answer. But eventually, it would come when she went up to meet her mother. IF she went there that is. Life seemed so useless to her. What was the point of living anyways? Did god only make us to use us as mere play things?....No. They had a purpose. It just hasn't accured to humans yet. She sighed as a small finch landed on her shoulder. It cocked its head several times before taking flight again. Sometimes, she just wished she was a bird. Free. Free from the duties of everyday life. Her life felt so dull. She had captured all of the Clow cards and converted them into Sakura cards. And now, there was nothing left. The adventure was over and now, she lived a life of a plain human being. With the acception of Kero of course. She admired Kero. A little anyways. He had a carefree life after the cards were captured. Now all he really has to worry about is her brother Touya, food, and video games. Just then, a magical force pushed her off of the tree branch. She landed on her face. She quickly got up, ignoring the pain her right knee. She looked behind her. She felt the presence of a magical creature. It felt similar to the cards. She looked around her. She couldn't see it, but she knew something was there. She pulled out her key and transformed it without doing the chant. Her star wand appeared in her hands. Thinking quickly of all of the cards she had and what to use, she came to a card. It was the SHADOW. Well, if she couldn't see it, then maybe she could see its shadow. She tossed the card out and hit it with her wand without saying any words. The SHADOW circled around her then started to spread out very quickly. Giving every living organism a shadow of its own. She quickly caught site of it. It was moving quickly. She ran after it. It was quick. A little too quick. She tossed out the DASH card and used its speed to catch up to it. A plan popped into her head. She ran past the magical force and called upon WOOD. The wood extended from its card form and divided into many branches and roots. As the card saw this, it was too late. The WOOD had it in its tight grip. Sakura walked up to it and glared. It suddenly revealed itself. It looked like a small girl with eyes the color of the rainbow and a bubbly looking outfit. It stared straight into Sakura's eyes with a glare. She glared back. It's face suddenly saddened. Sakura continued to look at it but her expression changed from grumpy to confusion. It smiled a sad smile. Sakura had a feeling that it was harmless so she recalled WOOD and bent down till she was on her knees looking face to face with the girl. Sakura's eyes looked so empty compared to the girls bright orbs. The small girl walked closer to Sakura. She then put a hand on her shoulder. Sakura continued to stare at the little girl in front of her. The girl then closed her eyes and started to glow. She then turned into a rectangle and appeared in Sakura's hand. Sakura blinked. This wasn't a Clow card. Thats for sure. It read, "THE EMOTION". Sakura continued to stare at the unfamiliar card. She flipped it to it's back side to look. It was a deep navy blue with a bunch of stars making an oval with the symbol of the moon in the middle. It also had different languages on each of the stars and had clouds drifting in the back ground. In each of the corners, they had crescent moons and the border was gold. Just like Clows. It was a rather easy catch. But were there more of these mysterious cards? Sakura pocketed it and headed back to her tree limb. This time hoping to be left alone in peace.

~Airport~

Tomoyo watched grumpily as a plane was getting ready to land. She sat on an unoccupied seat and watched to see if it was the one she was looking for. After a few announcements, the plane finally started to unload and many people started to file off of the plane. Tomoyo watched with eagle eyes as each one passed by. Then, she spotted a familiar colored green. She knew who it was so without seeing who it was, she grabbed their arm and started to pull them out of the line. She looked up to see Li. He smiled sheepishly. She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. She took a deep breath and exhaled carefully. She then took the time to talk. "Li." She said calmly. "May I ask you a question?" He nodded. "Why did you make that phone call to my poor Sakura-chan several years ago!?" He gulped. This wasn't how he thought he would be greeted. Things were definantly starting off on the wrong foot. He didn't answer. She looked at him with anger burning in her eyes. "Answer me." She ordered. He sighed and said, "I had to. I was ordered by the Clan and mother." Well, to Tomoyo, that wasn't good enough. She said, "So, does the clan run your life!? Or your mother!? You know, you amaze me Li-kun. Your 17 years old, and you still can't run your own life." "Listen Tomoyo. I came here to bring Sakura to Hong Kong. I didn't come here for this." She glared at him. "I don't understand you. After telling Sakura-chan that you hate her, you now want to bring her back with you after three long years of pain. Just as if nothing ever happened. Well, fine. I'd like to see you try. Lets see if you can convince her." She growled. "So, how long do you have here in Japan?" She asked while glaring. "I have a year. And if I must, I have a year and a half." "Good luck. Cause your gonna need it buster." He gulped again. The only reason Tomoyo would act this cruel is if it had something to do with her Sakura-chan. She sighed. "Well, lets get going. You can have a guest room at the mansion." She said quietly. "But I thought..." "Don't worry. You can have a room at my place. Plus, its free. But don't expect to be staying long. This is only temporary." She said in dispair. He thanked her and headed to her Limo and headed back to her house. 

~The Forest~

Sakura twitched. She thought she felt a green aura near by. She dismissed it though. It was nothing. Li was never going to come back. He said it himself. So she was just going to waste her life away. The sun was starting to set. Just then, she heard a *snap* of a twig below her. She looked down. Her eyes widened. She started to shake a little. He smiled at her. "Hey. Um, im back." She stood up on the branch. It was Li. He moved just a little closer and Sakura, without realizing it, took a step back and fell. Li with his lightning reaction caught her. He smiled at her. She looked at him and scrambled out of his arms and pushed him away. He looked hurt. But he didn't hurt as much as she did. Her whole body begun to shake. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. So she took off. Li ran after her while yelling, "Sakura! Matte!" But she ignored his pleas and continued to run.

Li still ran after her but she was quick. 

Sakura ran and ran. She had to get away. As far away as possible. From him. She knew the woods like the back of her hand so she ran and ran. She couldn't run much further cause up ahead was a cliff. She then grabbed her wand and the FLY card. And without looking back, she jumped off of the cliff. 

Li, who had totally forgot the cards, thought she jumped off to kill herself, but a second after she disappeared off of the cliff, she came back up except with wings on her back. For a second there, he thought he had lost her. For good. 

Sakura didn't want to look back. Her destination now was home. With Kero. And away from Li Syaoran.

Li watched her fade into the setting sun. He felt guilty. When he had caught her, he saw anger and pain in her eyes. They were duller than before. And she was paler than usual. He had no idea how much pain he had caused her. But he realized when he looked in her eyes. He felt bad. Really bad. If he had known, then he would of never have made that phone call. He would of just lied to his mother about it. But he was such a dope so he made the call. He slowly turned around and started to head to Tomoyo's place. Maybe on monday, things would be better.

~Tomoyo's House~

Tomoyo saw Li-kun coming down the street. She leaned against the door frame in satisfaction. "So Li-kun....how was it? How did it go?" He glanced at her then lowered his head. "Not good." He said. She smirked when he wasn't looking. He trudged past her with his feet dragging and back slouching. She closed the door behind him and followed him to her living room. "So, what did she say?" She knew Sakura wasn't gonna talk to him. But she asked anyways. "Nothing." "So, tell me what happened." "Well, I arrived in the park where you told me where she was, but she wasn't there. I started to probe the area for any signs of magic. I felt hers. It was really strong. So I followed it and I came up to a tree." Tomoyo nodded. "So, when I looked up, she was sitting there with a blank expression on her face. So, when I accidentally stepped on a twig she looked down. I thought she would be glad to see me. But then, she started to shake. Then, when I took a step forward, she fell off of the branch." Tomoyo gasped. "So then, I caught her." "Then what?" Tomoyo asked. "When I looked into her eyes, they were dull and full of pain and anger. She then got out of my arms and pushed me back." Tomoyo nodded again. "I thought she was going to say something to me when she opened her mouth. But nothing came out. She just ran away." "Oh, I see. Well, do you want to know why she didn't say anything to you?" He nodded this time. "Well, ever since that phone call, she hasn't spoke to anyone since. She never showed any emotion, and just the other day, she was jumped twice." "By who!?" "The first group was a bunch of boys from school. Then the other was a robber." Tomoyo started to get angry. "A robber?" Tomoyo nodded. "Yeah. And she almost died the second time! Because she refused to fight back!" "Why?" Tomoyo started to get even madder. How stupid was he? "Because of you and your phone call." She said as she got up and headed for her room. Li just sat there shocked. The guilt was even worst than before. Now.

~Sakura's room~

Sakura sat on her bed while Kero paced back and forth in midair. He studied the card sitting on her desk top. "Well, looks like the other deck is out there." He mumbled. "Another deck?" Sakura croaked. Her throat hurt. "Yeah. This one was also created by Clow Reed. But it's a little different. Theres only a few of these. Clow created these when he was older. He never got to finish because he died. So a guardian was never created for the book." Kero continued to pace. "Theres about 7 cards in this deck." He stopped to look at the card. Then he looked at Sakura. "They're not like ordinary Clow cards. These cards can think. Its hard to explain. Lets take the EMOTION for example. She was just playing around. But when you caught her and stared into her eyes, she saw something in you. She felt bad and gave herself up to you. Your lucky she was the first you encountered. Not all of them are as friendly as this one. Because, others, such as the stronger cards, will kill." Sakura gulped. "So what kind of cards are there?" She asked. "Memory, Love, Hate, Life, Death, Bind, and of course Emotion. The strongest of the cards is Death. Life is the second strongest. And don't think LIFE is a nice card. She can take life or give it. So be careful." Sakura nodded. She flipped off the light switch off. Even though it was only 8:54 she was going to go to bed. She wasn't tired. She just didn't want to face anybody. She crawled into bed and said good night to Kero for the first time in years and went to sleep. But unknown to her, a figure was by her window. It chuckled evily before it disappeared into the night.

To be continued....

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Sorry, but I don't have a Beta-reader or what ever its called. Hehe. I thought I should extend this story so I put in some cards. And just as a surprise, im putting in another card. It's the 8th one but im not gonna tell you yet. You'll find out in the last chapter. So, that'll be a long wait! If you want, you can guess and email me. And if your right, i'll tell you. Hehe. I like guessing games. Well, g2g! Ja! 


	4. Stuck in a Bind

Disclaimer: Yes. I don't own CCS....CLAMP does. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUB IT IN!!!

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Darkness

By: Sakura1301

Chapter 4 Stuck in A Bind

The following morning came quickly for many, but for one young man, it came slowly. Too slowly.

The sun streamed it's way down onto Li Syaoran's face. He slowly cracked an eyelid open. As soon as the light hit his eyes, he pulled the covers over his head. "Go away stupid sun....can't a guy get some sleep around here!?" He yelled. Suddenly, his alarm went off. He poked his head out of the covers and glanced at the clock. It read 6:45 AM. He lazily reached his hand out and swatted at the clock. Hoping to make the irritable buzzing sound go away. As soon as the clock was turned off, he swung his feet over the side of the bed and headed for the shower. 

Tomoyo hummed merrily as she flipped a pancake over in the pan. She stopped as Li walked in. She looked at him. "Your finally awake. You know what time it is?" He shook his head. She put her hands at her hips and sighed. "It's 7:05. School starts at 7:45. So we have 40 minutes. Now, eat quickly. We have to get you inrolled at our school today. So hurry." She slid a plate of pancakes towards him. He eyed it quizically. "Don't worry. It's safe." He looked at her and then turned his attention back to his food. He slowly picked up his fork and started to eat.

~7:35 AM~

"Okay Mr. Li. Here's your new schedule. And i'll leave it up to Ms. Daidouji to show you around campus. Have a nice day." The principal then shoved the two out of his office and out into the hall. 

Tomoyo glanced at her watch. "Okay. We have ten minutes to spare. Now, how about I show you around campus?" He nodded. "Good. Lets go!" She then grabbed his hand and started to drag him along. Showing him all of his classes.

Sakura walked slowly along the sidewalk. She sighed. She didn't want to go to school today. She didn't want to face Li Syaoran. And if she was lucky, he wouldn't be in any of her classes. Plus, she wouldn't see him the whole day. It was his fault her life had been so miserable. But if it wasn't for their promise, then she might of not been alive that day. She sighed again. Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch. "Hey Sakura!" It was Eriol. "Hey Eriol." He blinked. "You...you actually said something to me...." She looked at him sadly then at the ground. "I....I feel even worst. Now that Li's back...." She said quietly. He patted her back. "Why do you feel bad? You haven't done anything to him." "Yes I did. Yesterday...when he came back...I ran." "Ran?" "Yeah...I ran from him." "Oh...well, don't worry about it Sakura-chan! That was then. This is now! So cheer up!" He said as he clenched his fist. She sweatdropped. She gave him a weak smile. "Thanks Eriol." He smiled. "No prob!" 

Sakura sat in her first class of the day. Geography. This had to be the most BORINGEST class in the whole world. It was easy and stuff, but it was just SO boring. The teacher walked in. 

"Settle down class!....I said SETTLE DOWN!" Everyone ran to their seats and set all of their attention on the teacher. "I have an announcement to make!" Sakura didn't care. She turned her attention to the Sakura blossoms perched on the Sakura trees below. "We're going to have a new student join us today!" Sakura didn't even hear what Mr. Hanmatsuura was saying. "You can come in now." He said. Just then, the door slid open and the class went silent. Li Syaoran appeared in the doorway. Whispers swept through the class. The girls were sighing and some making it a gossip topic while the guys clenched their fist and grumbled. "Class, please welcome Li Syaoran. He's a transfer student from Hong Kong. So treat him as you would like to be treated. You may have a seat in any seat that is available." Li nodded and looked around. He then spotted Sakura. She was turned in her seat to where she was facing the window. He smirked and headed to the empty seat behind her. 'This is just perfect. I got a seat behind Sakura like old times!' He thought cheerfully. As he walked towards the empty seat, he could feel glares coming from the guy population in the class room. But they didn't faze him. He continued towards his destination.

Sakura watched the flowers. 'Oh, I wish I was a flower. They don't have any troubles at all. They just sit there...' Her head snapped up. She felt it. The green aura. It was coming from the back of the class room. She turned her head. It was Li. He smiled gently at her. She only turned her head away so that she was facing the front of the class and away from Li Syaoran. 

Li sighed. It was going to be a long school year.

~After School~

Sakura had her eyes glued to the ground. She didn't care where she was going. Life was so depressing at times. She stopped in her tracks. She felt it. She felt it again. The same as last time. She broke into a run towards the park, where the power was the strongest. As soon as she made it to King Penguin Park, the feeling of power died. She dropped her bag and called out her key. With out words, it appeared in her hand. Her head darted in every direction. Hoping to spot something. Just the, she heard foot steps from behind. She knew who it was. There was only one person that she knew that had a green aura. And that was Li. "Sakura. Did you feel it too?" He asked as he panted for air. No answer. He looked at her. She had a dead serious look on her face. Li called out his sword and had incantations in his hands. Just then, two green vines launched themselves from the trees towards Li and Sakura. 

Sakura saw the vines coming. She tossed out her jump card and wings grew on the back of her shoes. She jumped out of the way. 

It was so sudden. Two green vines just shot out of the trees at Li and Sakura. Li had been practicing magic all of his life. So he called out. "Element! Fire!" And fire shot out of the small incantation in his hand and hit right smack into the vine. The vine caught on fire and fell limp to the ground. Li smirked. This was too easy. Or so he thought. Out of no where, five more vines shot out towards him. His eyes widened and he decided to make a break for it. He spotted Sakura up ahead, jumpping from limb from limb. He decided to follow.

Sakura had to think of something. And something quick. The vine was starting to catch up with her. As soon as she blinked, five other vines shot out from the ground below her. Now she had six on her ass. She took a quick look behind her. She spotted Li following her. She started to think of different cards. Shield! Or course! She tossed the SHIELD card out and hit it with her wand. A pink bubble surrounded her. She stopped on the limb and turned around to face the vines. 

The vines saw that Sakura had stopped. But it didn't stop. It headed straight for her. 

Sakura saw Li coming closer and closer but before he could make it to the SHIELD'S protective bubble, the vines got to her first. She thought the SHIELD would work. But as soon as the vines came in contact with the SHIELD, the SHIELD vanished. Sakura's breath caught in her throat as everything seemed to go in slow motion. She looked up and saw Li yelling at her but then, he fell over as the vines grabbed hold of his ankles. Then she looked towards the vines coming towards her. She was about to call the FLY card but before she could, the vines wrapped itself around her waist. Everything then seemed to flash by fast. The vines wrapped around her and she dropped the Star Staff in the dirt. She grabbed the nearest thing to her, a tree branch. It wasn't very big so it was starting to crack. She stretched her arm out and had barely managed to grab hold of the staff before the limb broke and she dragged along the dirty ground.

Everything was hazy. Her head was spinning and she felt like something was rubbing her arms and waist. Suddenly, flashbacks of what had happened appeared in her head, causing her eyes to snap open. She looked around. She was still in the forest. She felt some tugging from behind her. She looked behind her only to see....Li Syaoran. And he was tied along with her. She had to get away. And fast. She started to struggle with the vine bindings around her. Then, she saw a flash of green light. She looked around, when suddenly, something jumped in front of her. She looked closely. It accured to her. It was the BIND card. It looked almost like the storm card except it was green with red eyes, and vines for hair. It grinned evily. Sakura glared at it. It snapped it's fingers and the binding around their waists disappeared and one of the bindings around Sakura's and Syaoran's wrist disappeared. Only leaving on binding on, and that bound Sakura and Syaoran together....by the wrist. Just as fast as it appeared, it disappeared. Sakura looked around. And a thought struck her. Where was her staff!? She grabbed the string that held it on her neck. She sighed a breath of relief. It was on her necklace. Good. She started to head home, but then, she felt a tug on her wrist. She looked down. The horror. The binding around her wrist that was once vine was now metal. She then followed the 'other' wrist up to it's owner. Her breath caught in her throat. She was STUCK to Li. Great. JUST great. He looked up to her and grinned. "Uh...hey Sakura. Isn't this a suprise? That we get stuck together by a card? Hehe...." He trailed off as he saw Sakura frown. "You could at least say 'hi.' Ya know." He said. She ignored him and started to drag him along. "Hey...HEY!? Will you cut that out!?" He said as his wrist started to ache as she tugged. She kept on walking, ignoring his plea's. When they were almost out of the forest, he was getting pissed. "Hey! Why aren't you talking to me!? Answer me!" She didn't. "Sakura! Stop being selfish!" It felt like a knife hit her in the gut. She stopped. He blinked. "Sakura?" She lowered her head as tears started to well up in her eyes. "Selfish?" She whispered. "Am I being selfish?" Her head shot up and was now glaring at Li. "How can you think I am being selfish!? **I** was the one who had to suffer! Not you! Im not the one who made the phone call! Do you know how long I waited for you?" Her voice was getting softer. "Do you? Do you!? Ever since you left I waited. I even waited for you after that phone call! Day after day I waited....and I waited. But you never came! And now look! Look at whats happened to me! Im not the Sakura you knew back then! Im not! I've lost all of the Love! Look into my eyes. Do I look like the Sakura you knew? The one that loved you and would do anything for you? The one that would wait till the end of time for you to return?" Her voice grew to a whisper again. "No...the Sakura you knew is gone. And she's not coming back. She's not. She's never coming back. EVER!" She got on her knees and started to cry into her hands. Now Syaoran knew how she felt. And he felt extremily sick. If he had known that this was going to happen, he would of never made that phone call and would of lied to his mother. In the Li clan, it was unhonorable to lie. But it would of been better than this. Way better. He slowly begun to stroke her hair. But then he heard a small whisper. "Just leave me alone...." So he lifted his hand away and sat down. 

~Later that night....~

Syaoran had been sitting down for hours now. Wasn't she done yet? He looked at her. This time, she had her head up. "Are you ready to leave?" He asked quietly. "Yeah. I guess." And she stood up. "So...my place or yours?" He asked. She said, "Yours." coldly. He shrugged. "Fine with me. Lets go." And they headed off.

~Tomoyo's~

Sakura looked at Tomoyo's 'house'. "Why are we here?" She asked coldly. "Im staying here for a while. Tomoyo offered a room to me here till I can find my own." He said casually. "Oh. Figures." He blinked. "Whats that suppose to mean?" "None of your buisness. Keep your nose where it belongs." "Oh, and wheres that?" "Out of my business. Thats where." He didn't like the tone in her voice. It was too cold to be his Sakura-chans. They pressed the doorbell at the gate. "Hello. Daidouji's residence. Who's this?" It was Tomoyo's sweet voice. "It's me." "Oh. You. Okay. Come in." Her voice changed as soon as she heard Li's voice. Li noticed. 'Dang. Why is everyone being so cold?' He thought. He remembered Sakura's speech at the park. 'Ugh. Why didn't I realize this sooner? Im such a Baka.' 

Tomoyo opened the door, only to come face to face with Li and a grumpy Sakura. "Sakura? What are you doing here?" "Oh, I just came here on my own will. Thats all." She said sarcastically. Li tapped her shoulder. She looked at him. He pointed at their wrists. "Oh, I see. Sorry. Come in." They both stepped in. "So...what happened here?" Tomoyo asked. "Ask him. I don't feel like talking now." Tomoyo smiled at Sakura, understanding how she felt at the moment. "So Li, what DID happen?" "It's a long story. We should sit down first." Tomoyo nodded and shut the door behind them as they headed for the living room.

Sakura sat there totally bored and thoroughly pissed from this situation. 'I wish I didn't have to sit next to him. If he hadn't been following me and kept his nose in his own business, then none of this would of happened.' She thought to herself. She felt a tap on her shoulder. "Sakura...are you okay?" It was Li. "Im perfectly fine except the fact that im stuck with you and all." "Im sorry Sakura. It wasn't my idea anyways." He said softly. Sakura sighed. "Yeah. I know. It wasn't mine either. *Yawn* Im tired. Im gonna head to bed." As soon as she stood up, she fell back down onto the couch. She looked down. "Oh yeah. I forgot. So, how are we gonna sleep then?" Tomoyo grinned. 'Even if im pissed at Li, I still can't resist this!' Tomoyo thought. "I know, you two can sleep together! It's the easiest way!" Li blushed, Sakura turned blue, Tomoyo had stars in her eyes. Sakura thought a moment. "Ugh. I hate this. I hate myself. I hate my life. I hate everything." "Whats wrong Sakura?" Tomoyo asked. "How do we use the bathroom? How do we shower? How do we cooperate?" Tomoyo sweatdropped. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that. Hehe....well, we'll figure that out later when it comes up." Li blushed even more when he started to think about the shower idea. Sakura noticed his red face. "Etchi...." (Pervert) She mumbled. "Well, I don't have to use the bathroom, so...what about you?" She asked Li. Hoping he didn't. "I don't." He answered immediatly. She released her breath. 'Good. He doesn't. Thank Kami-sama.' She thought. "Okay, then lets get to bed." Tomoyo said as she ushered the two upstairs and into a bed room. She then quickly shut the door. 

Sakura looked around, confused on what had just happened. "What just....happened?" She asked. "Tomoyo pushed us inside." He said casually. "Okay...." 

Sakura turned on her side. It was just SO IMPOSSIBLE to sleep! She looked over to Li. He was wide awake. He glanced at her. "Can't sleep?" He asked. She yawned. "No." "Same here." Sakura rolled onto her back. Both looked at the ceiling. "Li....what about school?" He froze. Good question. What about school. "I....I guess we'll just have to...skip it tomorrow...." Sakura snorted. "Yeah....great...just great. Now im gonna have homework." 

Li was about to open his mouth but paused....was it the right thing to ask? He shrugged. "Hey Sakura...." "What is it now?" "Did you really wait?" "Wait for what?" "You know...for me." "Oh, yeah. I had a promise to keep and I wasn't about to break it." "You know, I tried to come back, I really did." "Can it. I don't want to hear it. Explain it to me later when I feel like listening." "Okay...." He trailed off. Silence...... "So, what are we gonna do tomorrow?" He asked. "We're gonna go find that card. Duh." "Oh...hehe...I forgot." Sakura rolled her eyes. They both laid there, listening to the clock hanging on the wall tick away. "Goodnight. Im gonna at least try to sleep tonight." Sakura said. "Yeah. Same here. Goodnight Sakura." "Yeah. Same to you." And both TRIED to sleep.

Tomoyo bust through the door with a gong in her hand. "Okay sleep heads! Wake up! School is starting soon! So get up!" She said as she hit the gong repeatedly. "Ugh! TOMOYO! STOP!" Sakura yelled. Tomoyo smiled. "Good. Your awake." "Yeah...." Sakura tried to scratch her side but she felt tugging on her arm. She looked at Li and screamed. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Li jumped up so quickly that he fell off of the bed....and pulled Sakura down with him. "HEY! WHAT DID YA DO THAT FOR!?" He asked while he rubbed his head. "Oh, sorry. I forgot you were there....." She trailed. An idea popped in her head. "Im such a baka. Why didn't I think of it before?" She asked herself. "What?" Tomoyo and Li said in unison. "Why don't we use the ERASE card to get rid of this...this thing on our wrists?" Tomoyo and Li smiled. "Good idea!" Tomoyo said. Sakura pulled out her cards and her star staff. Without words, the staff grew to full size. She then started to shift through the cards. "C'mon...I know it's in here somewhere....ah! Here it is! ERASE card! Erase the bindings on our wrists! ERASE!" The card flew out of its card-like state and flew strait at the bindings. A bright light light the room and as soon as the light faded, the bindings still remained and the card returned to Sakura's hand. They all looked down. IT WAS STILL THERE!!! Sakura sighed. "I guess it's time to call Kero. I'll bet he knows what to do." Sakura said. Tomoyo pulled out her cell phone out of nowhere and pressed speed dial.

~Kero's phone~

"NO!!!!! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! Stupid phone." He slowly flew towards the phone. "Moshi moshi." "Kero! This is Sakura." "SAKURA!? WHERE WERE YOU!? WHERE DID YOU GO!?" "Calm down Kero. I need some help." "Okay. Go on." "Well, you see, Li and I encountered a card yesterday." "And?" "Well, it put some kind of bind around out wrists...and now, it wont come off. We even tried to use the Erase card, but it didn't help." "Hmm...sounds like the BIND card." "Kero! We already know its the BIND! But how do we get it off!?" "Well, sorry to say this, but your stuck till you catch that card." "Oh, that really helps." "Also, I forgot to mention this, but some attack cards don't have effect on them. The only attack cards you can use are the Four basic elemental cards. Because Clow Reed made them stronger than the others, they should be able to handle the other cards without much difficulty." "Okay. That helps a little...." "Well, anyways, WHERE ARE YOU!?" "Im at Tomoyo's." "Oh. Also, your dad was worried sick about you. I don't know if he still is." Tomoyo cut in. "Don't worry, I called him last night and told him you were staying here." Sakura smiled. "Thanks." "Sakura...are you listening!?" Kero asked. "Yeah." "So...who were you stuck to again?" "Weren't you listening!?" "No." "Oh...figures....Im stuck to Li." Kero turned red. "Your stuck to that-that GAKI!?" Sakura sighed. "Yeah." "If he does anything to ya, just tell me, i'll get him for ya!" "Thanks Kero, but no thanks. I can handle myself." "Okay...fine, suite yourself. Well, gotta finish this game. See ya." "Yeah...see ya..." And they hung up. 

~Tomoyo's~

"So, what did the Stuffed animal say?" Li asked. "We're stuck till we get that card." "Great." Tomoyo cleared her throat. Everyone turned their attention to her. "So....are you going to go to school then?" They shook their heads. "No. We got more important things to worry about." Tomoyo looked at her watch. "We have 30 minutes to spare." "Okay, how about breakfast?" Sakrua asked. Just then, she felt funny. "Whats wrong Sakura?" Tomoyo asked. "I have to go to the bathroom...." Tomoyo giggled, and Li just looked at her funny.

"So, how are gonna do this again?" Sakura asked. Sakura had gotten lost as Tomoyo started to ramble on and on about different things. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away. Okay, all we have to do is blindfold Li till your done. Easy. Huh?" "Yeah. But still....If you look once, I swear, i'll pound you into the ground Li." Li gulped. He didn't even plan on looking. 

Sakura emerged from the bathroom with a blindfolded Li behind her. "Okay, done." Tomoyo took the blind fold off. "Hey Li, do you need to go?" Tomoyo asked. "No. I don't." "Are you sure? Your acting like you do." "I-I don't....really. I don't." "Last time before you have to hold it for several hours....." "FINE!" He shouted. Tomoyo walked up to Sakura and put the blind fold on her. "Can you see out of it?" "No." "Good. Now hurry. I have to leave soon." They slowly made their way towards the bathroom.

They soon returned. "So, you guys done?" Tomoyo asked. They nodded. Suddenly, Tomoyo smelt something. "What is that stench???" She asked. They shrugged. She headed to the door to see if it was coming from the hall, but as she got further away from the two, it became lighter. She then headed towards the two. "OH MY GOD!!!" She shrieked. "WHAT!? WHAT!?" They asked. "YOU GUYS SMELL!" They smelled themselves. "I don't smell anything." They both said. "Yeah, smell eachother then. They shook their heads. "No way!" They said. Tomoyo sighed. "You both need a bath or a shower, or something!!!" She said. They blinked. "Now, lets see..." She said as she put her finger to her chin. She thought for a minute.

~Down stairs~

  
*SPLASH!* Tomoyo pushed Sakura and Syaoran into her hot tub. "HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" They asked. "Stay here." And she disappeared in a flash. 

In about a few minutes, she had returned with a few items. Sakura and Syaoran sat in the hot tub with their clothes totally wet. "Here." She said as she tossed them both some bottles of liquid soap and shampoo. She took a quick glance at her watch. "OH MY GOSH! Oh, wait...I know! I'll skip school today to help you two. It's for the best." She said happily. Sakura and Syaoran sweatdropped. She then tossed them both a wash cloth each. "There you two go. Oh wait. Almost forgot. Stay here." And she disappeared again.

She came back a few seconds later with a pair of scissors in her pocket. "So Tomoyo, what did you get?" Sakura asked. "Oh, just a little something. Don't move." They both froze. She walked behind them and grabbed a box of bubbles. She tossed a few scoops in and turned on the bubble jets. It started to bubble up. "Why did you do that for Tomoyo?" Sakura asked. "I said don't move. It something that your going to need." She walked up to Sakura and got on her knees. "Now, close your eyes, both of you." They did as they were told. She pulled out a pair of scissors from her pocket. "Oh yeah, can you both stand up?" They stood up. She started to cut the bottom of Sakura's shirt and worked her way up. "T-Tomoyo...what are you doing?" Sakura asked as heard some cutting. "Don't look." After a few minutes, it was done. All she had to do was peel the shirt off. Now it was Li's turn. She started to cut his shirt. After a few minutes, it was done. She peeled the shirt off of Li first, then Sakura. As soon as Sakura felt cold air hit her skin, she opened her eyes. Li's were still closed. She looked down and immediatly dove under water, taking Li down with her. They both came up but Sakura only came up till the water came to her chin. "Tomoyo! How could you!?" "What?" Li asked. Of course the bubbles were everywhere so he couldn't tell. But Sakura was still trying to cover herself up. "TOMOYO! THAT WAS MY BEST SCHOOL UNIFORM!!!" She shrieked. Li was totally confused. 'What is going on here?' He thought. The water met his waist but Sakura was almost all the way under. "Whats wrong Sakura?" He asked. "NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!!!" He flinched. "Oh come on now Sakura. It's not like your never going to show him." "SHUT-UP TOMOYO!" This was the most imbarrising thing to have ever happened to her before. Li was still clueless. "Whats going on?" He asked. Tomoyo grinned evily and pulled up Sakura's wet shirt. Li turned bright red and stumbled back and fell into the water, only tugging at Sakura's wrist. "Tomoyo...." She growled. "Why don't you two scrub eachothers backs?" She asked. Sakura clenched her fist. 'Who's side is she on anyways!?' Sakura thought. "No." Sakura said. Li just looked at the bubbles in the water. How imbarrising. 'How low can she go!?' Li thought. Just then, the door bell rang. "Hold on." Tomoyo said before she ran off to get the door. 

Tomoyo opened the door only to come face to face with Eriol. "Hi Eriol. What brings you here?" She asked sweetly. "Well, when you didn't show up at our usual meeting spot, I got worried. So I came to see if your alright." She hugged him. "Your so sweet! Well, actually, im having trouble with Sakura and Li cooperating. Maybe you can help?" He smiled. "Sure. Anything for you." He stepped in and followed Tomoyo to the Hot tub.

Sakura was still red and same with Li. Both had done nothing but look at the bubbly water. Just then, they heard footsteps. They looked up to see Tomoyo, and.....Eriol following her!? Sakura turned even redder and went under till only her eyes and nose were above the water. Eriol blinked. "Quite....interesting...." "SHUT-UP ERIOL!!!" They both yelled. He grinned. 'Great. Now I have two guys in here gawking at me.' Sakura thought. Eriol smiled at Tomoyo and whispered something in her ear. She grinned. "Why didn't I think of that?" She said. "Okay, listen up! If you two don't wash up, then, your not getting any dry clothes!" They turned blue. Not good. Eriol and Tomoyo then left. But before they left the room, Tomoyo said, "And when your done, come tell me." Sakura gritted her teeth. She was gonna get Tomoyo for this. 

To be continued....

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I know. Long chapter. Well, for me it was. I tried to add some humor to it. Next chapter is where we left off. Sorry it took so long. I feel tired. My sister wants me to go swimming in the new pool every freakin day and she wont stop! I hate the pool. I REALLY hate it. Also, the story stranded, im taking a LONG break from it. Sorry. Im just tired of messing with that story. It feels like its never going to end. I just want to delete it but I cant. I have too many reviews for it. Well, i'll post the next chapter soon. Please review!


	5. A Decision

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS. Clamp does and others that are associated with Clamp.

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Darkness

By: Sakura1301

Chapter 5 A Decision

Sakura sat in the water still as angry as hell. But her temper had gone down just a little. The frown on her face turned into a sad one. 'I really shouldn't be so hard on Syaoran. I mean he's really sorry, and well, i've been pretty pissed at him. I really should be nicer...but...im afraid to open myself back up to anyone. Im afraid they'll hurt me again. I already feel like somebody's stabbed me in the heart. I...' Syaoran nudged her. "Are you okay?" She looked at him with sad eyes and then back to the bubbly water. "Yeah. Im fine." He shrugged. "Okay." 'But, I won't show it. I wont show him, that I feel a little bad.' She thought.

Tomoyo sat on the couch tapping her foot. "Eriol, how long have they been in there?" "More than 2 hours. Don't you think we're being a little harsh on them?" Tomoyo sighed. "I guess your right. I should get them out." She grabbed the two towels hanging over the arm on the sofa and entered the room. 

The door opened. Both turned their heads towards the door. Sakura grew angry all over again. It was Tomoyo. She smiled at them. "Well, I felt kinda sorry for what Idid to you so...I decided to get you out!" She smiled happily. She walked up to the hot tub. "Now Li, I want you to cover your eyes while I help Sakura out." Li nodded and closed his eyes. Tomoyo held a hand out to Sakura and Sakura grabbed it and pulled herself out. Tomoyo then wrapped a towel around her. "Okay Li. You can open your eyes." Tomoyo instructed. He opened them and looked around. Sakura was out of the tub and he was still in with his arm up. Tomoyo helped him out also and gave a towel to him. She smiled. "Okay. Now follow me." They both followed.

Eriol sat there, bored. Just then, the door opened and Tomoyo, Sakura, and Li came out. He smiled at the trio. Li glared at him. They followed Tomoyo upstairs while Eriol tagged along. 

They entered Tomoyo's room. Tomoyo looked at them and saw Eriol enter as well. "Eriol, out." "But..." "OUT!" "Aw shucks." He kicked his heel against the floor and left. Tomoyo closed the door and smiled. Okay. "Listen up. Last night, i've realized this would be a problem so I designed these outfits for you to pick from!" They both sweatdropped. She pulled out several shirts, pants, and shorts. But they all were black. "Here. Choice #1! You have your black shirt with ties along the sides. Choice #2! You have your black shirt with snap-on buttons on the sides. And Choice #3! You have your back shirt with Velcro on the sides. Choose your pick!" 

Eriol waited in the hall. He could hear Tomoyo talking. And every once in a while, almost to the point of yelling. After about 20 minutes, they FINALLY came out. Eriol smiled at the two. Both wearing black outfits. Sakura had the Black leather tank top like shirt with the ties and simple black shorts with black boots that went to her calfs. Li had the Black Snap button shirt on and black baggy pants with a pair of black Docs on. They looked sorta like the people from the Matrix. Except, with out the coats. Like I said, SORTA! "Well, how about that, matching outfits!" Eriol said. Sakura and Li glared at him. Tomoyo came out after them smiling like she won the lottery. "Oh! Wait! I almost forgot!" She ran back into her room and came out about a minute later. "Here. A pair for you and you." She handed them both leather gloves. "And Sakura, can you raise your right foot up?" Sakura did. Tomoyo got on her knees and slipped some sorta harness on. "Next." Sakura raised her other foot.

They all came down the stairs. As soon as they were going to go into the kitchen, Sakura stopped. Li was pulled back by his wrist. "What is it Sakura?" He asked. "A Card." She pulled out her staff and headed for the door with Li behind. She yanked the door open and ran out.

Eriol and Tomoyo were in the kitchen. Tomoyo turned around to see Sakura and Li missing. "Sakura? Li?" Eriol turned around. They were gone. 

Outside, we see our heroine and hero out after card. 

"Sakura! Slow down! Your killing my arm!" "Sorry Li! But we got a card to catch!" She started to pull more faster.

They stopped at Penguin park again. Li was slightly out of breath. Sakura groaned. "Not here again." Just then, something caught the corner of Sakura's eye. She grabbed a card and held it in front of her and listened. "Sakura? Whats wrong?" "Shh." He stopped to listen. Just then, Sakura heard a rustle from the bushes. "Ha! I got you now! FREEZE!" She tossed out the card and hit it with her staff without aim. A large ice beast rose from its confinement and dashed towards to bushes, freezing everything it touched or got within a foot of it. As soon as it disappeared into the bushes, a loud screeching shriek sounded throught the air. Sakura ran over to the bushes to see a frozen card with the freeze hovering above it. Sakura raised her staff up. "Return to the guist you were ment to be, CLOW CARD!" And she brought her wand down hard and it created a small glowing rectangle beneath it and the BIND was sucked in along with the bind around their wrist.

Sakura held the card and her wand in the same hand as she held out her other hand to the FREEZE. "Freeze, return." And it slowly returned to it's card form and carefully landed into her hand.

She pocketed both cards and looked at her wrist. There was a red ring around her wrist but she didn't care. She started to walk off, but Li said, "That was a great capture." She stopped and without looking she nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." And she walked off.

Li opened the door to the Daidouji mansion and was immediately hit with tons of questions from Tomoyo. Eriol just stood there with an amused look on his face. "Slow down! I can only answer one question at a time ya know." She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Okay, lets start from square one. Where's Sakura?" "She went home." Tomoyo's mouth dropped open. "How? I thought you two couldn't get the binding off." 

Meanwhile....

Sakura opened the door and sighed. Touya looked up from the news paper. His mouth dropped open. "WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!?" He started to laugh. "Shut-up Touya." "You look like that one lady on The Matrix! Are you preparing for Halloween early or something?" He said while trying to hold in his laughter. "No. For your information, this is from Tomoyo." And with that said, she headed up stairs to her room.

Kero was winning. "Come on! Oh yeah! Now look who gets the last laugh! BWHAHAHA!!! Wait, NO! NO! NO! Yeah! Oh yeah! Now who's the man? Who's the man?" Sakura walked in. "Hey Kero." Kero was too busy with the game to notice. "Who's ya daddy? Come on! Say it! Say it!" Kero was yelling at the game. "Kero. Quiet down." Sakura told him as she sat down at her desk and pulled out the cards. Except for the BIND. 

Kero's ears perked up and he pressed pause on the game. He floated towards her. "I see ya caught a card. Which one is it?" "The BIND. Wait. How did you know I caught a card?" "I can sense it's aura. It's not like the Sakura cards. They have a pink aura like yours. The others, they have a dark blue color. Sorta like Eriol's aura." Sakura nodded. "Can I see the card?" He asked. She nodded and handed him the card. He sat on mid air while studding the card. 

"Your lucky." "Why?" Sakura asked. "This was one of the weaker cards. Your lucky you didn't run across LIFE or DEATH....yet." "Well, the card didn't seem like one of the weaker cards. It was a hard one to catch. It kept running." "Well, if this was hard for you, then the others will be harder than hell to beat." Sakura shrugged and leaned back in her chair and put her feet up onto her desk. Kero sighed. He handed the card back to her and floated back to the TV to continue his game. Sakuras' gaze drifted to the window. Dark clouds were starting to form over head and was blocking the burning suns rays from the earth. Just then, the door bell rang. Sakura didn't bother with the door bell. Touya would get it anyway. 

About a minute later....

"Sakura! It's for you!" Sakura groaned and got up and headed down stairs.

"Sakura! Your still wearing my outfit I made for you! Well, my mom just called, and she told me that we were going to go camping! And she told me to invite a few friends to come along. So, I just was wondering if you would like to come along!" Sakura sweatdropped. "Tomoyo, you could of just called ya know." "I know, but I also had to come and give you something. So, are ya gonna come?" Sakura shrugged. "Sure. Why not. When do we leave?" "Thursday!" "But Tomoyo, we have school...." "Remember? We don't have school on Thursday or Friday! And tomorrow's the last day of school!" "Oh yeah. Forgot. And also, you wanted to give me something?" "Oh yeah! Well, the outfit I made for you, it came with this coat, but it would go on with you and Li's arm stuck together. So, here!" She handed a bag to her. "Tomoyo, you didn't get this idea from The Matrix. Did you?" Stars appeared in her eyes. "Why, Sakura. How could you think that? Of course I did!" Sakura fell over. She thought Tomoyo was gonna deny it. Guessed wrong. 

Tomoyo snapped out of it. "Well, gotta go! My body guards are waiting out in the car. Well, see ya Thursday! Oh, and be ready by 10 AM on Thursday! K?" And she left. 

Sakura stood by the door, watching the car drive off. Rain was now pouring from the heavens like nothing before. She slowly closed the door and peered into the bag. She reached in and pulled out a leather black jacket. She sighed. 'Tomoyo and her ideas. At least it looks nice.' She thought. She walked up the stairs and back into her room. 

To be continued....

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I know. Not a cliff hanger. Well, I don't think so at least. Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. But I was working on my website. Anyways, anyone know how to make cool looking Layouts like what Sakura Star has? Cause I would like to know. If you do, please email me at:

Spinal_sun@Sailormoon.com

Well, thanx for all of the reviews from all of the other chapters. I'll be posting more soon. K? Thanx! 


	6. Revealed Secrets

Authors Notes: Be prepared for a brand spankin new story to come out soon called 'Moon Lily'

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Darkness

By: Sakura1301

Chapter 6 Revealed Secrets

Sakura laid in her bed. She turned to her clock. It read 3:24 A.M. She turned back to facing the ceiling. 'I wish it wasn't so hot. I feel like im in an oven. But...my hands are freezing! And my feet. And why is my throat so itchy?!' Sakura sat up. She looked towards her little desk drawer where little Kero slept. 'I wonder if Kero feels the same. I can't wait till we go camping today! This is going to be so fun! I think...' She stood up and headed towards the the door. "Water." She said to her self. 

Down the hall, she passed her brothers room and peered in. She had forgotten that he wasn't there. That he was over at Yuki's to study for several tests coming up. She was all alone. Then she passed her mothers old room. The door was closed. She felt tired already. She wiped the sweat from her head and continued to get a glass of water. 

She took a deep breath after she finally reached the kitchen. She looked toward the cupboard. Everything around her started to spin. She reached out and grabbed the edge of the counter for balance as her other hand went to her head. She hung her head and closed her eyes as she tried to rid herself of her dizziness. Nothing. Her head kept spinning. What was wrong with her? She looked up and everything kept spinning. She groaned. "Whats...wrong with...me? Why is my head hurting like this?" She staggered and dropped to her knees and gasped for air. She looked up. Her head started throbbing. Finally, everything grew hazy and she fell over, unconscious.

~Morning~

Tomoyo happily pranced up the steps of the Kinomoto's house. She smiled. "Well, Sakura's probably not even up yet knowing her. So i've decided to come over early to get her ready and give her the newest outfit i've made for her!" Tomoyo said to Li who had followed her. "I have a feeling that something is wrong...." Li said. Tomoyo laughed. "Hohoho! Don't be so silly! Nothing's wrong!" Tomoyo lightly knocked on the door. A minute passed. "I was sure that Touya or Mr. Kinomoto was already up. It's only 5:00." Li sweatdropped. "Tomoyo, todays a holiday. Nobody wakes up this early on holidays." She glared at him. "So what your saying is that your not awake also." Another sweatdrop. "Thats not what I meant. Oh, nevermind." Tomoyo smiled and patted his head. "I knew you would see things my way." He sighed. 

After a few minutes, both started to get worry. "What do you think is taking so long Li?" He shrugged. "Im not sure. But, we're about to find out." Tomoyo was in confusion. "We are?" He nodded. He pulled out an Ofuda and chanted a few words in chinese. Suddenly, it flew towards the door and latched itself to the lock. Then, a click could be heard. He looked at her. She nodded. He slowly took hold of the door knob and turned. The door opened with relative ease. They both entered as quietly as possible. They looked around. "Lets search the house. If you find anything unusual, come find me or something. I'll do like wise." Li said. Tomoyo nodded then both split up. Tomoyo searched downstairs while Li searched upstairs. 

After about a minute, Li heard Tomoyo call his name in an urgent way. "Li! I found Sakura! Something's wrong with her!" He felt his heart stop. He raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Tomoyo! Where's Sakura?!" "Down here with me. I think something's wrong with her...." He bent down to her level. "Let me see." He pressed the back of his hand onto her forehead. He pulled it away as if it was on fire. "She's burning up. She has a fever." Tomoyo's face turned really sad. "And today we were supposed to go camping too..." She sighed. "Here. Let me take her to her room. I don't think you can carry her." She nodded and handed Sakura to Li. Li lifted her into his arms and stood up. Tomoyo stood up also. "Kawaii...." She said with stars in her eyes. He sweatdropped. "Tomoyo, I don't think this is the time to be gawking at us." She giggled. "Don't be so ridiculous! This is such a kawaii moment! I wish I had my camera..." 

Both set Sakura into her bed and covered her up. Suddenly, Li's anger flared. He stomped over to her desk and jerked the bottom drawer open. There lay a sleeping Kero. He grit his teeth together as he reached for the 'stuffed animal.' Then, with great speed, he jerked it out of it's small 'house.' "Stupid stuffed animal! Wake up! You supposed to be taking care of Sakura! Your her guardian!" Kero's eyes opened only to come face to face with a pissed 'brat.' "What are **you** doing here you gaki?" A blood vain popped out of Li's head. "Tell me this, stuffed animal, why weren't you watching Sakura?!" Kero became fully alert. "What happened to her?! Is she okay?! If you did anything to her, I swear i'll..." "Can it doll! I don't want to hear this! You suppose to protect her! Not let her..." By this time, Kero was already by her side on the bed. "Sakura?" "Don't leave....don't leave me..." She mumbled in her sleep. Kero sighed. "She'll be okay." "And how do you know Kero?" Tomoyo asked. "Remember, she's the most powerful sorceress in the world!" Tomoyo nodded. Li crossed his arms. "Even powerful sorcerers die from sicknesses, ya know." Kero nodded. "Yeah. I haven't forgotten. Clow died that way. But...this sickness just doesn't seem right...something's definently wrong...like it's out of place...I must find Yue. He must know about this." Tomoyo nodded. 

Li and Tomoyo stood at Sakura's side while Kero went in search of Yue. 

Soon, one hour passed. Sakura was still burning up, and getting worse. 

Then, a second hour passed. No Kero yet. Tomoyo stood up from the chair she was sitting in. "Li, could you watch over her till I get back. I have to find my mom and ask her if we could postpone the camping trip. She said she had a few things to do. So, i'll be back as soon as I can. Oh, and, be a good boy. Don't do anything naughty! Ohohoho!" She said just for fun. His cheeks turned a deep red. Just as Tomoyo was about to leave, Sakura groaned and gripped her head. Tomoyo stopped and looked back at her best friend. "I'll hurry." And she ran out. He turned his attention back to the sleeping Sakura. 'I wish I could help. She looks as if she's in pain...' His thoughts trailed off as she started to mumble. "Why? Please, I beg of you, don't leave..." He placed a hand on her cheek and brushed the hair out of her face. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay. I promise."

~Dream Sequence~

"I said don't leave! Wait! At least wait for me!" Sakura ran and ran further into the darkness, chasing after a fading image. Finally, it faded. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. "Why are you doing this?" Suddenly, the surrounds around her shifted. The darkness turned into a meadow of flowers. Then, in the distance, she saw two figures. "Who's that?" She started walked towards the two figures. 

"Why are you leaving? Did I do something to offend you?" Sakura said to the Li that stood in front of her. The real Sakura stared at her image. Was that really her? Of course not. But, what was going on? 

"Do I have to repeat myself? I told you, I can't tell you. I have a reason, it's just that...just that...just keep your nose out of my business! It's none of your concern!" The Li yelled. Just then, the projection of the real Sakura started to float towards the real Sakura. Sakura was going to step back, but too late. Her other self had went inside of her, and suddenly, Li turned towards her. "Just keep out of my business." Suddenly, a rush of sadness overwhelmed her. "But..." He shot her a glare. "Im going to Hong Kong and thats final! Im sick and tired of looking at you!" She felt tears well up in her eyes. 

Suddenly, Li disappeared. She grabbed a fist full of her dress as she frowned. "I don't believe him. It's not true. IT'S NOT TRUE!" Suddenly, a voice spoke to her. "Is it not true? Does thou not believe what thou hast heareth?" "Who are you?" "If thou wishes to find the truth, find me." "But, how do I know it's you that I find?" "Thou will know. Now go and findeth me before it is too late..." "But.." "Before it is too late..." And the voice faded. Then determination flew threw her as she released her shirt and broke into a run towards the forest that laid ahead.

~Sakura's bedside~

Li held her hand tightly as her chest heaved up and down and sweat covered her forehead. By this time, Yue, Kero, Tomoyo, and Eriol had arrived. 

"We must hurry before Touya wakes up. If he does wake up, and find me missing, he'll grow suspicious." Yue said. Kero shot him a glare. "Yue. Your mistress is in need of us and all you can think about is Touya waking up?" Yue shook his head. "No. It's not that. If Touya wakes up, he might come back here. Then what do you think he will do when he sees all of these people here?" Kero nodded. "I see what you mean." Eriol spoke up. "This is not natural. Something is doing this to her. But what?" Everyone was silent. Finally, Kero broke the silence. "If we don't do something soon, she'll die! She's getting worse by the minute!" Tomoyo gulped. "Eriol! Do something! Your Clow Reed's reincarnation!" She said as she gripped his shirt. "Half reincarnation." He corrected. "Whatever is doing this to her has magic, and strong magic at that. It somehow feels like a card..." Everyones head turned towards him, except for Sakura's. A bead of sweat ran down his face as he continued. "I just remembered something that Clow Reed had accidentally done to the cards that might be the result of this." He sweatdropped as he continued to speak. "Apparently, Clow had died before he could complete the Life and Death cards. As a result," He gulped, "he didn't get to put up a barrier of their powers before he died. So..." "Just spit it out Hiiragizawa!" Li yelled. "The cards....They can...sorta...create their own cards." Everyone did an animefall. Li jumped to his feet and grabbed Eriol by the collar. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY CAN CREATE THEIR OWN CARDS?!" Eriol adjusted his glasses as he sweatdropped. "The only way for the Life and Death cards can create a new card or cards is if they cooperate with eachother...and that possibility is a 50/50 chance." Li glared at him. "You know Hiiragizawa, I used to think that you were a perfect person. Perfect at everything. Now, I see I was wrong. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT SAKURA'S DYING!!!" "There is also another catch..." Eriol said as he pulled Li off of him. "Since Clow did not create any of the cards that the Life and Death had made, she has to have a new sealing chant to seal them. She can tell if they are not the cards that Clow has created himself by their aura. All of the new cards have a midnight blue aura like mine. But the others...well, she'll know." Li sighed. "How can we save her then?" Li asked. "She's the only one that can seal the cards." Eriol nodded. "I must be leaving now. Touya will awake soon. Good luck." Yue said before he flew out of the window. "Some help he was." Kero mumbled. 

"The only way to save her is to go into her mind and help her." "I'll do it." Li said. "You must hurry then. You must be in a calm state and concentrating on your destination. I'll do the rest." Li nodded. He closed his eyes and started his meditating. Eriol had called forth his staff and started to chant. Slowly, a blue glow could be seen around him and a green one around Li. "Look Kero. Their glowing..." Tomoyo said in awe. Kero nodded. "Eriol's transmitting Li's soul into Sakura's." 'That gaki better do it or else i'll kill him.' Kero thought. 

~Inside Li~

__

"Hurry Li. Hurry before it's too late. If she dies with you in her, you die as well. So hurry before it is too late." "I understand Eriol. Just get me there and I'll do the rest." "I trust you Li. Don't fail us, yourself...don't fail Sakura." "Don't worry. I won't fail."

~Sakura's Dream~

"What is this place?" Li found himself in a meadow full of flowers. "Some meadow I think." He looked around. "Where is she?" He then heard a voice in the distance. "Please! Come out! Im tired of searching!" It was coming from the forest. He ran in that direction. 

Sakura panted as she ran through the forest. Her legs felt as if they were lead and were trying to weigh her down. "Please come out!" She then decided to stop for a rest. She dropped to her knees. "I can't keep this up. This is impossible." Just then, a bright flash of light lit the area. She covered her eyes until it faded. She looked up. She gasped. Before her was her mother. "Mother? Is that really you?" The figure nodded. It waved it's hand towards itself, signaling for her to come. Sakura nodded. She stood and walked towards it. It started to float backwards and further into the forest. "Mother! Don't go! Wait! Wait for me!" She ran after it.

Li kept his pace going. Her aura was just ahead. Not much further. Then he heard her yell. She was closer than he thought. He sped up. He had to get to her before it was too late. 

~Sakura's Room~

"Mother...don't leave also..." Sakura mumbled in her sleep. Tomoyo bit her bottom lip as she placed a cold towel on Sakura's forehead. "I hope Li succeeds. It's already been several hours since Li went to help Sakura. I hope everything is alright." Eriol nodded. "We can only pray for their safe return. It's all up to Li now. We can do nothing." Tomoyo sighed.

~Sakura's Dream~

'Im almost there. I can feel her aura...' Li thought as he continued through the forest.

"Please stop! Don't go!" Sakura ran and ran till she got to a clearing where little grass grew and where dirt lay. She stopped. "Mother..." The image of her mother had stopped moving.

Li finally came to the clearing where Sakura was. He stared at her. "Sakura! Stop! That's a cliff over there!" He watched her as she kept moving forward. If he let her keep walking, then she would surely walk over the cliff's edge! He ran forward after her. 

"Mom...you waited, you really waited...don't worry, im coming mother! Im coming!" But before she could take the last step off of the cliff, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. "Sakura! What are you doing!" The mist that covered her eyes vanished. "Hoe?" She looked down over the cliff. "HOE! DON'T LET ME FALL! DON'T LET ME FALL!" She shrieked. He pulled her back over the edge. "What were you thinking?! You could of died!" Li yelled. "But...I saw my mother. She was waiting for me. She was telling to go to her..." "Do you really think that your mother would endanger you?!" He asked furiously. She slowly shook her head. "I guess not..." Her eyes misted over with tears as she buried her head into his shirt and wept. His eyes softened. "It's okay Sakura. Everything's fine now." She lifted her head and wiped the tears and nodded. "Ready?" She looked at him with a baffled expression. "We got a card to capture." Then she understood. "Yeah." She pulled out her key. "Key that hides the forces of darkness, show your true form before me, I, Sakura command you under our contract, RELEASE!" And a bright, white light lit the area. When the light subsided, a pink wand appeared in her hand with a star at the top. "Return to the guist you were meant to be in, CLOW CARD!" And she brought the wand down to seal the card but....nothing happened. "What? It didn't work." Li nodded. This illusion of your mother is not a normal Clow Card. It's a card created by the Life and Death. The only way to seal it is with an appropriate sealing chant." Sakura nodded in understanding. "Card which created by LIFE and DEATH, return to your confinement of your master, SAKURA!" Then, a new symbol appeared under her feet. A symbol with the sun, stars, moon, and clouds. Then, a rectangle appeared near the face of the wand, and the image of her mother was sucked into the rectangle. Slowly, the card floated to her hand. 

"It worked!" She cried in glee. Li looked over her shoulder to read the cards name. "The DECEPTION card. Good work Sakura." She smiled up at him. Suddenly, the ground started to shake and crumble. "Run! The grounds cracking!" Both broke into a run towards the forest and back from which they came. Hoping to not get caught in the breaking ground. Then, the ground in front of them opened up and swallowed them.

~Sakura's Bedroom~

"I wonder what's happening." Tomoyo said with concern in her voice. Then, in Sakura's palm, a white rectangle appeared. Then, the light faded to reveal the DECEPTION card. Eriol picked it up. "It seems they caught the card. But, Sakura's still has a fever. There must be another card also." "Another?!" Kero said in unison with Tomoyo. Eriol nodded. "Lets hope they catch this one with as much ease as the DECEPTION." 

~Sakura's Dream~

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. Everything was fuzzy, then started to become clear again. She sat up and shook her head. "Where are we? Why is everything...oh no. Not here again. Im back where I first started." Then Li popped in her head. "Wheres Li?!" She stood up and frantically searched for him, turning her head from left to right. Then, finally, in the distance, she spotted him. 

Li opened his eyes. His head felt like someone took a sludge hammer and hit him in the head with it. His head felt dizzy. And his body felt like every bone in his body was broken. He couldn't move. As he tried to stand, he heard foot steps coming towards him. He wanted to jump up and pull out his sword and get ready to protect himself, but then, he felt her aura. He relaxed. It was Sakura. She was not threat. He knew she wouldn't hurt him on purpose.

When Sakura finally reached Li, she lifted his upper body up and onto her lap. He looked pretty beat up. "Are you okay?" She asked as gently as she could. He tried to speak clearly, but it came out in a hoarse whisper. "Sakura. Are you okay?" She smile down at him and nodded. "Im fine. But what im really worried about is you. Look at you! Your all beat up! But...what happened back there?" She asked. "After you sealed the DECEPTION, all of the DECEPTIONS powers were sealed, and what we were in was DECEPTIONS power." He choked on his last sentence. "Shh. Don't talk now. Your in no condition to be doing anything. Just be still." And be still is exactly what he did. 'Ha! I knew she did care for me! I knew it I knew it I knew it!' He thought with joy. 

She looked around her. Everything was a black void. Out of no where, a voice echoed throughout the void, but this time, it wasn't like DECEPTIONS. It was a sickening voice. 

"Looky Looky at what I got here. It seems that 2 little brats have wondered into my trap. Hmm...I wasn't expecting to catch two kids. Oh well, you two will do." The last sentence sent shivers down Sakura's spine. "What do you mean by 'you two will do'?!" "Oh, nothing, except, im gonna drain all of your magical power card mistress and master!" Sakura was a bit puzzled. "Card Master?" She asked aloud. But no response. "Who are you?!" She asked. "Who am I? **WHO** am I?! Oh please, don't tell me you don't know! I am the card SICKNESS. I was created by the LIFE and DEATH card. And to them, I owe them my thanks. And I plan on repaying them, by getting rid of you two!" "In your dreams!" "Oh really? How about, in your dreams? This is where we are card mistress. In your dreams." "In...my...dreams?" "Did you not know that? How thick are you? Well, that wont matter much more." "Wha...?" Suddenly, the ground started to shake once again. And the rumbling sound was growing louder and louder by the second. When Sakura turned her head to see what the noise was, her heart stopped. Before her, sharp ice shards started to rise out of the ground in quick spikes. And it was coming straight for them!

~Sakura's Room~

On Sakura's dresser, the Sakura book started to glow. Everyone turned their attention towards the book. Then, it flew open and the cards started to float out in a single file and started to surround Sakura. "What's happening?" Tomoyo asked. "The cards are worried about their mistress." Eriol said. "And that can only mean one thing. Something bad is happening." 

~Sakura's Dream~

Sakura quickly called her staff forth and drew out the fly card. "Fly!" And she hit it with the face of the star on her staff. A pair a light pink wings grew on her back and she took off, carrying Li with her. "Im sorry if this hurts Li. But if I left you down there, you would of died and that's for sure." She looked down to where they were last at. It was now covered with Ice shards. "At least we're safe." But as soon as she said that, all of the ice shards started to rise towards them at incredible speed. She pulled out the FLOAT and used it to keep Li afloat while she tried to seal the SICKNESS. Then, she pulled out the FIERY. "I hope I can use 3 cards at once. Well, its worth a shot. FIERY! Melt the ice!" And she hit the card with her staff. With a flash of light, the FIERY was out of it's confinement and heading towards the ice. As soon as it was almost upon the ice, the FIERY started to glow and the flames around it intensed greatly, thus, melting all of the ice around it. "FIERY, good work, return!" And the card sealed itself back into it's card form. She smiled as she placed it back into her pocket. The voice reappeared again. "Not bad. It seems its up to me to get rid of you." Then, a small, dark glowing figure appeared below them. "That must be the SICKNESS card." Slowly, she descended but stopped short when Li protested. "Sakura! Don't, it's a trap!" He said in a hoarse whisper. She smiled at him. "Don't worry. Soon, we'll be out of this nightmare." And she continued to descend. 

Finally, when she was on the ground, she recalled the FLY card. She could finally, see the figures face. It looked like a very pale chinese man. His hair was black and in a bun at the back. But, his eyes were those of a cats, and his nails were as if they were knifes. The suit he wore was a red silk shirt with buttons down the middle and his pants were black and looked almost like Li's ceremonial pants. And his shoes were leather boots. He smiled at her. "Well, it seems you have more guts than I expected. Well, lets see if your up to the challenge." And he took a fighting stance. Sakura did the same and readied her wand. "Fine. Lets do it."

To be continued....

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Whew. That was a LONG chapter. Well, it seemed like it. Well, as you might of noticed, I used the old chant that Sakura used before she met Yue. I knew the other one, I just forgot it. So i'll just stick with this one. You probably hate me because this is a cliffhanger. Well, you'll just have to wait. And my newest story 'Moon Lily' is a fantasy. If you like Unicorns and things like that, Moon Lily is the story for you. Don't worry, it's S+S. If it doesn't sound good to you, at least read the first chapter. Thanks. Also, sorry if there's any mistakes. I usually don't have time to proof read them. Well, Ja!

Sakura1301


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